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Hong Kong
Hong Kong, is a special administrative region on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary of the Pearl River Delta in southern China. History The growth of Hong Kong depended greatly on domestic transport of citizens and cargo across Victoria Harbour. The establishment of the Star Ferry and the Yaumati Ferry would prove to be vital. In 1843 the colony had built the first ship at a private shipyard. Some of the customers later included the Spanish government in the Philippines and the Chinese navy. The Peak Tram would begin in 1888 along with the Tramway service in 1904. The first railway line was also launched in 1910 as the Kowloon-Canton Railway. On land the rickshaws were extremely popular when they were first imported from Japan in 1874, since it was affordable and necessary for street merchants to haul goods. Sedan chairs were the preferred mode of the transport for the wealthy Europeans who lived on Victoria Peak due to the steep grade which ruled out rickshaws until the introduction of the Peak Tram. The first automobiles in Hong Kong had petrol-driven internal combustion engines and arrived between 1903–05. Initially they were not well received by the public. Only around 1910 did the cars begin to gain appeal. Most of the owners were British. Buses operated by various independent companies flourished in the 1920s until the government formally issued franchises for the China Motor Bus and Kowloon Motor Bus companies in 1933. Handover Beijing Police cleared more than 60,000-people off Tiananmen Square for the final preparations of the all-night official celebration gala to mark the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China at 3pm. Chris Patten had departed for Britannia, Jiang Zemin and Li Peng also arrived on a Boeing 747. British Hong Kong troops farewell ceremony was held at 6.00pm. Governor Chris Patten began his speech with "Today is a day of celebration, not sorrow". A farewell ceremony and cocktail reception began at 7.30pm with 4,000 guests. Tony Blair had meet with Jiang Zemin at 7.45pm. About 500 People's Liberation Army vehicles crossed the border from China to Hong Kong at 9.00pm. Pro-democracy advocates protest at the Legislative Council in preparation of Chinese rule. Beijing celebrations including live performances and fireworks were expected to run it for 7 hours from 10pm. The handover ceremony began on 30 June 1997 at 11.30pm, before the national anthem - at 11.55pm, Moments before midnight the British Union Flag and Hong Kong Blue Ensign were slowly lowered to the British national anthem "God Save the Queen," symbolising the end of British colonial rule in Hong Kong. Sovereignty of Hong Kong is officially transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997 at 12 midnight. The Chinese national flag and new Hong Kong regional flag were simultaneously raised to the Chinese national anthem "March of the Volunteers". President Jiang Zemin gave a speech expressing his optimism for the "one country, two systems" implementation. Grand celebrations begin in the mainland with fireworks displays over Tiananmen Square. 15 minutes later, Charles, Prince of Wales and Governor Chris Patten with his family, bid the citizens of Hong Kong farewell at the Tamar site. They boarded HMY Britannia and sailed to the Philippines before heading back from the People's Republic of China to the United Kingdom. They were escorted by HMS Chatham. Prime Minister Tony Blair and other British officials flew out by a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER from Kai Tak Airport to London's Heathrow Airport. At 1.30am, a swearing in ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) for Tung Chee-hwa, Anson Chan, Donald Tsang and Elsie Leung. 4,000-People's Liberation Army troops from the Hong Kong Garrison arrive by land, air and sea at 6am, followed by commemorating the new government at 10am. The 1997 Hong Kong Spectacular featuring Causeway Bay to Victoria Harbour formal Central, Hong Kong fireworks display begins at 8pm. The handover marked the end of British rule in Hong Kong, which was Britain's last substantial overseas territory. Although in statute law set down by Parliament, British Hong Kong had no status of pre-eminence vis-a-vis the other British Dependent Territories (as they were then classified before the term British Overseas Territory was introduced in 2002), Hong Kong was by far the most populous and economically potent. The cession of Hong Kong meant that Britain's remaining territories (excepting the United Kingdom itself) henceforth consisted either of uninhabited lands (for instance the British Antarctic Territory), small islands or micro land masses (such as Montserrat), territories used as military bases (for example Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus, itself a former crown colony granted independence in 1960), or a combination of the latter two (like Gibraltar). And while many of Britain's remaining territories are significant to the global economy by virtue of being offshore financial centres (Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands being the most prominent of these), their economies are insubstantial. Demographically, they are also tiny compared to Britain, with a collective population of less than 0.4% of Britain's 2017 population of 66 millions. Protests Cafe de Coral Café de Coral ( ) is a fast food franchise based in Hong Kong owned by the Café de Coral group. The chain is one of the largest and most popular fast food chains in Hong Kong with more than 120 restaurants in operation (as of March 2004). It was established in 1968 and today caters to about 300,000 people on an average day. In February 2006, it announced that it would spend approximately HK$100 million in introducing its new 4G design of its restaurants. This would renovate its restaurants to include plasma televisions, chromatic mirrors, and Italian marble and leather upholstery. Holidays Hong Kong has been living it for the SG50, where I had been in 2007 (Betsy Koh, Ernest Mok and Timothy Mok went there), 2010 and 2014 (Daniel Mok had went there). The transfer of sovereignity came in the 1997, and had a lot of places opened: the Hong Kong International Airport (1998), the Hong Kong Disneyland (2005) and Ngong Ping 360 (2006). The Lok Ma Chau checkpoint was also opened in August 2007, and the Kowloon Southern Link was opened on November 2009. The hotels were originally at Ramada Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui for March 2007, whereas it was replaced by Metropark Mong Kok in the subsequent holiday. The third day of Hong Kong consists of the Hong Kong Disneyland. We took the Disneyland Resort Line across, connected through the Sunny Bay. Rubi Shoes (Red Primo Flat) is easily spotted in 2010, through a lot of students also went from Hong Kong schools. And the Rubi Shoes normally in Singapore that I easily spotted consisted of the bronze and grey Primo Flats. The fourth day of Hong Kong consists of the Ngong Ping 360. We took the Tung Chung Line across. From here, you can also see the rumbling of the trains, traversing at 110 km/h. The fifth day of Hong Kong consists of the Stanley Market and Happy Valley. The sixth day of Hong Kong consists of the The Peak Galleria and The Peak Tram. Actually it was planned to take bus service 15C which is the open-top version from 2000 to 2014. Several amenities include Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. The seventh day of Hong Kong consists of where Jeremy Mok and Daisy Ang also went to Macau, where they can enjoy gambling there. Other times we will see direct excursion to the Shenzhen (Window of the World). From there, Huang Wen also stays in Tung Chung as the second home besides Singapore, which she has went there in 2011. AsiaWorld-Expo has the similar replica in Honolulu. Politics Murray MacLehose has introduced compulsory education in Hong Kong, the construction of the MTR, establishment of Country Parks and satellite new towns such as Tuen Mun, expansion of community facilities, the adoption of Chinese as an official language, paid holidays, increase the number of schools and hospitals, and did quite a lot of things. In 1979, MacLehose raised the question of Britain's 99-year lease of the New Territories (an area that encompasses all territories north of Boundary Street on the Kowloon Peninsula), with Deng Xiaoping. The talks, although inconclusive at the time, eventually involved top British Government officials and paved the way for the handover of the Hong Kong in its entirety, including those parts ceded to the UK in perpetuity, to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Patten's most controversial actions in Hong Kong are related to the 1994 Hong Kong electoral reform. Legco members returned in 1995 were originally to serve beyond the handover, thereby providing institutional continuity across the transition of Hong Kong to the PRC. Beijing had expected that the use of functional constituencies with limited electorates would be used to elect this council, however Patten extended the definition of functional constituencies and thus virtually every Hong Kong subject was able to vote for the so-called indirectly elected members (see Politics of Hong Kong) of the Legislative Council. Anson Chan From 1987 to 1993, Anson Chan was Secretary for Economic Services, becoming the 30th and last Chief Secretary, the head of the Hong Kong civil service, in 1993. She mainly oversaw the localisation of the civil service during her time in this position. From 1994, she headed the Airport Development Steering Committee overseeing the construction of the new Chek Lap Kok Airport. In the run-up to the handover of Hong Kong, she was often the 'face of Hong Kong', dispatched to reassure the wider world that the territory would not implode upon its return to China and that civil liberties would be upheld. Her confidence reassured many around the globe. Within Hong Kong she had wide public support to be the first Chief Executive in the new administration but announced in October 1996 that she would not seek the role. In 1998, Chan was somewhat criticised for her role in the monitoring of the new Hong Kong International Airport construction at Chek Lap Kok. The airport had logistical difficulties upon its opening, and some blamed Chan for her lack of supervision. As Special Administrative Region (SAR) The following Chief Executive of Hong Kong are: *1997 - 2005: Tung Chee-hwa (b. 1937) *2005 - 2012: Donald Tsang (b. 1944) *2012 - 2017: Leung Chun-ying (b. 1954) *2017 - present: Carrie Lam (b. 1957) Tung Chee-hwa had pledged to focus on the housing, elderly and education. Measures on housing included a pledge to provide 85,000 housing flats each year so as to resolve the problems of soaring property prices. The Asian financial crisis that hit Hong Kong in months after Tung took office made this objective almost immediately redundant and, in fact, it was a collapse in property prices that became a far more pressing problem in the years between 1998 and 2002. He also helped to open the Hong Kong International Airport in 6 July 1998. Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang served as acting Chief Executive from 12 March to 25 May 2005 and Financial Secretary Henry Tang acted from 25 May to 21 June 2005. Following his re-election as the Chief Executive in 2007, Tsang set out the 5-year blueprint for the third term of the SAR government in his 2007–08 policy address. He stressed the importance of "progressive development", a core element of which is the promotion of community development through revitalisation of the built heritage in the city which is to be realised by promoting economic development through infrastructure projects. Ten large-scale infrastructure projects were also proposed within his term of office to boost economic activities to improve the living environment in Hong Kong: (1) MTR Southern District Extension; (2) MTR Sha Tin to Central Link; (3) Tuen Mun Western Bypass and Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link; (4) Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link; (5) Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge; (6) Hong Kong-Shenzhen Airport Co-operation; (7) Hong Kong-Shenzhen Joint Development of the Lok Ma Chau Loop; (8) West Kowloon Cultural District; (9) Kai Tak Development Plan; and (10) New Development Areas at Kwu Tung North, Fanling North, Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling and Hung Shui Kiu. Carrie Lam In July 2017, the Lam administration proposed co-location arrangement of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), and for the Jolin's administration proposed co-location arrangement of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail has sparked concerns that it might constitute a breach of the Basic Law and undermine Hong Kong's autonomy of "One Country, Two Systems", especially regarding the immigration control issue. In January 2018, Carrie Lam slammed the Hong Kong Bar Association for its criticism on the "co-location arrangement" which would allow the mainland customs officers will be allowed to set up checkpoints and exercise jurisdiction at the West Kowloon Station as well as Jurong East HSR station. The Bar Association criticised the arrangement for distortion of the Basic Law, stating it damages the rule of law in Hong Kong as Article 18 was clearly written and leaves no room for any interpretation which would allow Chinese law to apply in any certain part of HKSAR. Lam defended the bill and responded by stating that "some Hong Kong legal professionals have an elitist mentality or double standards, that is, they think that Hong Kong’s legal system is supreme, and that the mainland legal system – a big country with a 1.3 billion population – is wrong." Her statement prompted widespread disbelief as she appeared to defend Chinese legal system being better than Hong Kong's legal system which is derived from British system, accusing her of hypocrisy as she herself is seen as an elite out of touch with society, damaging the One Country, Two Systems principle and for attacking the character instead of the arguments of Hong Kong's lawyers. The long-debated plan was finally passed on 14 June 2018 in the Legislative Council by 40 to 20 votes after Legislative Council President Andrew Leung capped debate time for the bill at 36 hours to counter pro-democrats' filibustering. The cross-border Express Rail Link was opened on 22 September 2018, followed by the opening of another cross-border infrastructure Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge on 23 October 2018 by Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping. Lam entering the venue side-by-side with Xi and ahead of Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui and First Vice Premier Han Zheng. The entrance raised eyebrows among those who saw it as a departure from protocol for her to walk in front of top mainland officials. In October 2018, Lam launched a development plan in her second policy address which suggested the construction of artificial islands with a total area of about 1,700 hectares through massive land reclamation near Kau Yi Chau and Hei Ling Chau of the eastern waters of Lantau Island. The project meets with controversies and opposition for its high cost of estimated HK$500 billion (US$63.8 billion) – amounting to half of the city’s fiscal reserves, as well as environmental concerns. The Lam administration first presented a cross-harbour tunnel toll plan in January 2019 to balance the traffic between the three cross-harbour tunnels by raising tolls at the publicly operated overused Cross-Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Tunnel, while lowering them for the privately run Western Harbour Tunnel which was underused because of its higher charges. But Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan abruptly withdrew it after strong opposition from the Legislative Council. The government made two changes to the motion in the hope of getting more support, but legislators across the political spectrum remained unconvinced. In March, Carrie Lam said her government has decided to shelve the plan for the second time as the government could not get enough votes in the legislature, symbolising the first defeat of the Lam administration. Transport Hong Kong has a highly developed, sophisticated transport network. Over 90 per cent of daily trips are made on public transport, the highest percentage in the world. The Octopus card, one of the contactless payment card is being accepted in railways, buses and ferries. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, officially the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link on earth. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai—three major cities on the Pearl River Delta. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Construction began on 15 December 2009 on the Chinese side and the last bridge elements were completed in stages between May 2016 and 6 February 2018. The HZMB Hong Kong Port can be reached from Hong Kong by taxi or various buses including Cityflyer airport routes A11, A21, A22 and A29, Long Win Bus airport routes A31, A33X, A36 and A41, the B4 shuttle bus from Hong Kong International Airport, the B5 shuttle bus from Sunny Bay MTR station, or the B6 bus from Tung Chung. In addition, all overnight airport buses (NA-prefixed routes) terminate and start service from the Hong Kong Port. The shuttle bus runs 24 hours a day with bus departures as frequent as five minutes, whereas the journey time is forty minutes. It was designed to last for 120 years and opened on 24 October 2018. Bus There are several bus operations in Hong Kong - Citybus, New World First Bus, Kowloon Motor Bus, Long Win Bus and New Lantao Bus. Franchise buses altogether carry about one-third of the total daily public transport market of around 12,000,000 passengers, with KMB having 67% of the franchised bus market share, CityBus with 16% and New World First Bus with 13%. There are also a variety of non-franchised public buses services, including feeder bus services to railway stations operated by the railway companies, and residents' services for residential estates (particularly those in the New Territories). Before NWFB commenced, franchised bus service in Hong Kong Island was provided by China Motor Bus (CMB) (franchisee since 1933) and Citybus (franchisee since 1991). In the early 1990s, the service levels of CMB were in decline. Therefore, the Government of Hong Kong started to introduce new competitors by transferring the franchise of CMB routes to other companies. As a result, Citybus became the 2nd franchisee of the bus service on Hong Kong Island. Over 40 routes were transferred between 1991 and 1995. The former Singapore Bus Services Leyland Atlanteans were sold to Citybus in 1993 instead of being scrapped. Citybus had to find buses to take over 26 bus services from the CMB back then - at most the CMB had been invested in their reliability of bus services while it became bad to worst. In February 1998, the government announced the franchise for all 140 routes operated by China Motor Bus would not be reviewed when it expired on 31 August 1998. Eighty-eight of the routes were placed to open tender, 12 routes were transferred directly to Citybus, one cross-harbour route to Kowloon Motor Bus, and the remaining routes were cancelled. Since losing its franchise, its main business focus shifted to real estate, by developing former bus depot properties which it owned. There was a free shuttle bus service operated by the company between Island Place (one of the CMB's real estate developments) near the North Point MTR station and North Point Government Offices with a Volvo B6LE, acquired from Citybus, along with eight Marshall C37 bodied Dennis Darts. However, this service ceased on 30 June 2015 as the new environmental protection ordinance enforced to phase out pre Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles. It was replaced from the Volvo Olympians that were being sold in 2001-02. In August 2002, NWFB withdrew its last non-air-conditioned buses and became the second franchised bus company to operate fully air-conditioned bus fleet. Railways The MTR is an extensive passenger network connecting 93 railway stations throughout the territory. Cross-boundary train service to Shenzhen is offered by the East Rail line via Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations, and longer-distance inter-city trains to Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing are operated from Hung Hom Station. Connecting service to the national high-speed rail system is provided at West Kowloon railway station. The Peak Tram, Hong Kong's first public transport system, has provided funicular rail transport between Central and Victoria Peak since 1888. The Hong Kong Tramways covers most parts of the Hong Kong Island. Airport In 1998, the Kai Tak Airport was closed. The new Hong Kong International Airport was opened for regular use. The Tsing Ma Bridge, part of the Lantau Link connecting the remote airport site to the city, was the world's second largest suspension bridge when it opened on 27 April 1997. Spanning 1,377 metres (4,518 ft), it is also the largest of all bridges in the world carrying rail traffic. Infrastructure history Other major transport projects completed in the 1990s include the Tate's Cairn Tunnel (1991), San Tin Highway (1993), Yuen Long Highway (1993), North Lantau Highway (1997), Kap Shui Mun Bridge (1997), Western Harbour Crossing (1997), and Tai Lam Tunnel (1998). Many of these related to the airport project, or to completing the New Territories orbital highway. Lots of new infrastructure projects had been completed throughout the territory during the 2000s. Examples of those infrastructures includes: For Railway - the completion of MTR Tseung Kwan O Line in 2002, KCR West Rail in 2003, KCR Ma On Shan Rail in 2004, MTR Disneyland Resort Line in 2005, the extension of the Airport Express to AsiaWorld-Expo in 2005, KCR Lok Ma Chau Spur Line in 2007, and MTR Kowloon Southern Link between East Rail Line and West Rail Line from Hung Hom Station to Nam Cheong Station via East Tsim Sha Tsui Station and Austin Station in 2009. For major bridges and tunnels - the completion of Discovery Bay Tunnel in 2000, Nam Wan Tunnel in 2007, Deep Bay Bridge (Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor) in 2007, Eagle's Nest Tunnel and Sha Tin Heights Tunnel in 2008, and Stonecutters Bridge in 2009. Highways The Hong Kong Strategic Route and Exit Number System (Chinese: 香港主要幹線及出口編號系統) is a system adopted by the Transport Department of the Hong Kong Government to organise the major roads in the territory into Routes 1 to 10 for the convenience of drivers. When the system was first implemented in 2004, the government launched a major campaign to promote it to the public. One of the slogans was "Remember the Numbers; Make Driving Easier" (Chinese: 認路記號碼，唔使路路查). The speed limits for most vehicles (see the paragraph below for exceptions) on the Hong Kong highways are 110 km/h for North Lantau Expressway, 100 km/h for the New Territories roads and West Kowloon Highway, 80 km/h for the most expressways and 70 km/h, due to the older ones such as Island Eastern Corridor, East Kowloon Corridor, West Kowloon Corridor and Tsuen Wan Road. A speeding offence less than 10 km/h over the speed limit is not usually enforced - many drivers in Hong Kong travel within this range. Cameras will shoot when it is above 15 km/h, with their fines imposed. As stipulated by the Laws of Hong Kong Cap 374 s 40 (5) and (5A), medium goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and buses or any vehicle driven by a driver with a probationary driving licence shall travel no faster than the speed limit of the road or 70 km/h, whichever is slower; while minibuses shall travel no faster than the speed limit of the road or 80 km/h, whichever is slower. Many vehicles of these types actually ignore this and simply follow the speed limit of the road on the Hong Kong highways, thereby committing speeding offence. However, this law is not usually enforced - cameras are not tuned to be triggered differently by these types of vehicle. *1: Aberdeen - Ho Man Tin *3: Tsing Yi - Kowloon *4: Causeway Bay - Sheung Wan *5: Central Hong Kong *8: Tsing Yi - Airport There are also two Asian Highway networks. *AH368 - from Chek Lap Kok to Sha Tin *AH374 - from Guangzhou to Kennedy Town MTR West Kowloon Station West Kowloon, is the terminus and only station of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (HSR). The station connects to the mainland China section through a dedicated tunnel and includes a Mainland Port Area where the laws of mainland China are enforced. It was constructed by MTR Corporation.